Ever read something on the Internet or magazine and swear you have read it somewhere else but by a different author?
You may have also been in the situation where you find your web text or an article you have written on another website without any idea how it got there. This, my friends, is called plagiarism and it drives us crackers.
As copywriters we write things for our business and, of course, for lots of other businesses. Contractually, when customers pay they take ownership of the copyright of the material. There seems to be a great deal of confusion in the business world about what you can and can’t copy. Is it ok to copy text from a website and put it on yours? Is it ok to lift an article from a book and just change a few words? Can you ‘borrow’ a few paragraphs from some training materials and use them for your business?
Copyright law is a very expansive area and this article specifically focuses on small/medium business owners who are worried about another person nicking the contents of their brochure, website or articles. If you need more comprehensive copyright information then go to http://www.cla.co.uk/ and http://www.patent.gov.uk/
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as if it were your own. It doesn’t matter whether you do this intentionally or by accident. By not giving credit to the original author you are passing the work off as your own regardless of the source. The source material could be anything from a book to a newspaper, software programme, website or other printed material. It can also include passing off ideas, structure or theories as your own. Plagiarism may not, in itself, be illegal but it is seen as highly unethical. Plagiarism strays into the illegal when the material is copyrighted and you breach the copyright by copying or adapting materials.
So what is copyright?
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is the current UK copyright law. The idea behind this law is to protect the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. The law allows these creators to control the way in which their material is used. Copyright happens when a person or an organisation (in this case your business) creates a work (let’s say for example a brochure). Copyright only applies if the work is original and you can been seen to have out in a degree of labour, skill or judgement (for example, you have had your team working on the technical content for this brochure). If you produce something when working for a company then the copyright is likely to belong to them. If you are a sole trader and write a brochure then you alone own the copyright. Freelancers often pass copyright over to the person who commissioned the work (as we do) or they may retain copyright and licence you to use it.
What is covered?
Content (of a website, book, brochure etc)
Logos (if they are unique and substantial)
What isn’t covered?
Ideas
Names
Short phrases
Colours
To find out more detailed information about the law relating to copyright look here http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/Ukpga_19880048_en_1.htm#tcon
How do I protect myself and my work?
First of all you have to be sure you can prove you own the copyright - this is why it is vital that you keep back up, dated copies of materials you produce. Putting a copyright symbol on the materials you produce isn’t necessary but may help if someone decides to try and pilfer your work. Depending on how thorough you want to be you can also send a dated copy of your work to your solicitor or yourself by special delivery. The envelope should be dated on the front and remain sealed.
What happens when I discover someone has nicked my work?
The first course of action is to approach the person and ask them very nicely (yes, nicely) why they have used your material and if they will stop using it. If you have dated copies of your work it will be easy to prove you are the copyright owner. If all else fails you may need to get some legal advice and even go to court where (if found in your favour) the nice judge can stop the naughty copyright infringer by giving them an injunction or fine them. Either way they stop using your material and get a slap on the wrist.
What is the difference between a copywriter and copyright?
Just in case you are a bit confused. Copywriters with a ‘w’ write things such as brochures and websites. Copyright with an ‘r’ is the law. Glad we got that one cleared up…
And don’t think people won’t find out
It does happen in the business world with devastating consequences…
There was an amazing gaff made by William Swanson, the head of one of America’s largest defence firms. He had his annual pay rise taken back following accusations of plagiarism. The board at Raytheon cancelled his pay rise when it was discovered his management booklet included material from 1944 publication. It is estimated this may have cost Mr Swanson somewhere in the region of $1 million. Ouch.
So before you write that next piece of material for your business think carefully about where you have got your information from. If you do use another author’s then get permission and fully credit them. Plagiarism - it’s not big and it’s not clever.
